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nullum-nocte · 5 years

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Don’t mess with Aether’s wand

Just a fun little thing written for my own enjoyment and got way out of hand! The three characters mentioned aren’t mine- they'll all oc’s by @moonkxssed @toeachfuture @serenesunlight I hope you guys enjoy and I hope I managed not to make your characters too ooc

It was like any other day for Gladion, having to race through the Slytherins passages to escape his housemates and into the great hall. He’d stick to the wall and slink towards the Gryffindor table where Mitsuki and Selene were already sitting side by side. By now the house of lions learned never to keep Mitsuki away from her friends or they’d pay the ultimate price. Gladion still got a few dirty or untrustworthy looks but nothing he couldn’t ignore.

Glancing at the Slytherin table he had to wonder whatever happened to the supposed house unity that Professor Snape was so adamant about? At least his head of house never punished him for visiting his friends. It was odd, one would assume he’d pull out all the stops in attempts to get him to sit with his house due to his great dislike of Gryffindor... Though that train of thought was better to be mulled over on another day.

“Did you run into trouble again Gladion,” Selene whispered leaning forward so as to keep the conversation between the three of them. He only scoffed at the oh so familiar worry the Hufflepuff girl gave him. He was fine thank you very much, he could deal with little brats that thought he was a good target.

“Shouldn’t you all be worrying over Elio instead, he hasn’t shown up for breakfast yet,” he sent the empty seat next to Selene a pointed stare.

Elio was the one the group collectively worried over but tried not to baby. Tried being the word here, sometimes they all were unable to help it. Gladion was usually more times than not the more level head out of the three and would smack some sense into the other two and tell them to give Elio his space. He’s sure if he was coddled he’d lose his mind and they shouldn’t treat Elio differently due to how weak his body was. Yes, they should be aware of it and know when not to push him but babying him would do nothing but hurt his feelings.

Elio was strong in his own right and only deserved respect.

“I think he’s sleeping in,” Selene murmured a thoughtful look crossing her features.

“Did you see him in your common room?” Gladion asked as he picked up a fork scooping up the scrambled eggs and began to eat.

Selene shook her head worried lit to her voice, “no he wasn’t napping on the sofa or reading next to the fireplace like usual....”

Mitsuki frowned but didn’t seem too worried, after all, how many times has one or the other slept in for a bit. Still, she made it a point to say, “You should go wake him up Selene he’s going to miss breakfast at this rate!”

Selene nodded stuffing a piece of buttered toast in her mouth before running off. It’d be easy for her to get into the boy's dorms, unlike the girls they aren’t charmed to kick a girl out. Which was strange, did the Professors think a girl wouldn’t dare enter the boy's dorms? It was almost laughable!

By the time she came back Gladion had eaten his fill and now was just leisurely drinking pumpkin juice from a goblet. The panicked look in her eyes snuffed out whatever peace he momentarily felt and brought him towards alertness.

“He’s not in his dorm! I went in and his bed was a mess- the whole place was a mess as if there was this huge fight!” The next part she leaned in close to furiously whisper, “And all his creatures where running about mucking up the whole dorm room in distress- especially Tubbs.”

Mitsuki and Gladion both winched at the mentions of Tubbs the Chupacabra. How no one has caught the beast nor seen it due to it’s overprotective ways he’s unsure. It wouldn't be surprising if Tubbs had managed to leave a few nasty parting bites to whoever dragged Elio out of his dorm.

Slowly Gladion stood from his seat, his breakfast dishes disappearing as soon as he made a move to leave. His eyes roamed over the tables looking for any signs that they were the cause of his friend's disappearance. Of course there was a snicker and of course, it had to come from the Gryffindor table- the very table he was sitting at. He stared with cool calculating eyes at the perpetrator and with that one look he knew. It was easy to read the guilt in the boy's eyes- not because the other felt sorry- no, it was pure malice that rolled off the boys form.

He had his fair share of knowing when harm was meant for him and this boys very being was drenched in it.

It must have been a joint effort between the Slytherins and Gryffindor’s. He wasn't 100% positive and the very thought of those two forces working together would almost make one think it was a hox. But- but... if they had the same goal, the same enemy who wouldn’t work together to conquer it?

Turning from the student body he strode towards the large oak doors Selene and Mitsuki hot on his heels. Once out in the front hall, he told the two it was best to split up to cover more ground. He had faith in his friend's skills and knew they would be fine if they met with trouble.

A flash of anger washed over him at the scene, Elio panting harshly wand raised with a furious snake hissing at the three much larger students who were trying to back him into a corner. His anger soon faded as he saw the state the three were in. One supported extremely nasty boils another appeared to favor one leg over the other, streaks of blood on their leg where Tubbs most likely bit them and they appeared to have a slightly green complexion. The third seemed to have his hands glued to his sides and burn marks on his clothes obviously done by the Firedrake Pumpkin.

There might be some things Gladion would lie about to himself but one of the things he didn’t was how vindictive he could be. Seeing how they were in far worst shape then Elio himself was in made a federal smile curl upon his lips.

Gladion clapped, making the three whirls around, poison green eyes gleaming in amusement. “Good job Elio I taught you how to throw curses well!”

Elio frowned, “B-But... you d-didn’t teach me a-any of this! I-I learned t-this on my own!”

The smile on his lips only widened as the three sent wide-eyed looks towards the unsuspecting Hufflepuff boy. This was always Gladion’s favorite part of dealing with things like these. Showing these fools just how amazing the boy in front of them really was, if it didn’t seem to sink in whilst they fought.

“That you did Elio, and your more amazing for it.” As he spoke Gladion took a step forward glancing at the three obviously disinterested in them. Still, he rolled his wand within his hand making them stiffen.

“Now why don’t you stop playing with your.... acquaintances,” he spat the word acquaintances out heavily dripped in venom. “and let us be off. You know how Mitsuki gets and she’s dying to talk about the new quidditch game coming up.”

By now Gladion had made it past the three goons and had wrapped a protective arm around Elio moving him away. The snake that had been wrapped around Elio’s arm swiftly moved towards Gladion. Not to bite him but to slither onto his shoulder and be closer to the threat. Even with the protective snake on his shoulder, Gladion never once let his guard down waiting for them to throw hex’s his way as he maneuvered Elio to the side trying to walk around them.

What Gladion wasn’t expecting was for these idiots to think of tackling him like a muggle. Granted it caught him off guard and he’d have to work on his reflexs later but still.

Gladion was brought down with a single swoop much to his chagrin, ( he was more upset by the fact that Elio was brought down along with him ) the harsh pounce making him drop his wand. The snake had lept off of him and sunk it’s fangs into the boy that tackled them making them cry out in pain. Gladion watched his wand roll away from him, his hand raised as if he could wandlessly call it back to him. He steadied himself mind whirling as he thought of a way to get them out of this before they could do who knows Merlin what to his wand.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as he watched the girl- the one who was favoring one leg over the other bend down. Her fingers were inches away from his wand and an ugly triumphant smirk upon her face- the very sight making his very soul recoil at the scene.

What none of them were expecting was for a bolt of lightning to come down upon the girls head striking her down with a god-like furry. Struck dumb by the occurrence, Gladion was able to forcefully push the boy who had tackled him off then grab his wand. He paid no attention to the wriggling body on the floor that looked to be having a seizure. He wasn’t sure if he could without grimacing in disgust- whatever happened he saw it as a way out for the both of them.

Elio looked beyond startled- in a state between shock and maybe horror, his reaction to the scene made the snake perk up moving towards Elio to wrap around his wrist once more and send out- comforting hisses? Gladion wasn’t sure.

With one look into the boy's deep Golden eyes, he cursed himself knowing the other wanted to help her. How he could after being practically dragged from his bed and into the corridor to most likely be beat black and blue Gladion would never know.

With an irritated snarl, Gladion flicked his wand to the side pointing it at the wriggling girl, “Wingardium Leviosa!” He rolled his eyes as the two boys jumped as far away from their companion as possible. The show of cowardice almost made him snap but he let it go.

The girl began to float in the air still wiggling as it were. Satisfied Gladion stalked off down the dark corridors leaving the two goons behind.

The rest of his day after that was relatively normal and he wasn’t connected to the girl due to some fast thinking. It had all worked out wonderfully in the end though they didn’t get back to the great hall in time to finish breakfast.

It was only a few weeks after he took notice that the gossip mills were running full force. What the subject of it was Gladion didn’t know, and not knowing irritated him. How he still hadn’t found out was a mystery to him... They were usually glad to let their loose lips run without caring who would hear.

“Selene, what’s with all the rabble?” He gestured towards the Ravenclaw table the three girl and singular boy pouring over books while taking sneaking glances at him. A similar sight was met at the Gryffindor table minus the books, the lions were just gathered around each other and whispering furiously. The table that the four sat at today, being the Hufflepuff table was oddly quiet. It wasn't fully silent but a hush had fallen over the students. His house table was the only one that was purely silent, only knowing glances passing between the other Slytherins.

He only got a deep sigh in return for his question, “I'm not sure. I keep asking around my house but it’s as if everyone took an unbreakable oath! I know it has something to do with you but I have no clue what it could be about.”

Neither did he, though he had a sneaking suspicion. He was positive no one else was around when he dropped that girl off at the infirmary but he couldn’t be sure. People were curious by nature, maybe someone saw it and was spreading rumors that he beat up a girl. Oh, dear Merlin if his mother found out she’d have his head!

This whole debacle was giving him a headache- even the headmaster was staring at him- in what was it? Suspicion?? Amusement?? Those twinkling eyes won’t fool him! Staring daggers at the headmaster was a foolish endeavor but something he still did, beyond frustrated with not knowing what gossip he was part of. The headmaster only seemed to grow more amused eyes twinkling even more- if that was even possible. The action startled Gladion along with.... something else- a feeling he couldn’t name in the back of his head. Quickly looking away from Dumbledore his eyes landed onto Professor Snape’s who was staring as well- which that in itself wasn't odd, he would always stare when he sat next to Mitsuki. No, he started at him a bit longer than normal with pride?? In his cold eyes?? This was all too much!

Standing up abruptly he gathered his things making his escape into the hall, leaving his three friends behind. Where he was going he had no clue- all he knew is he had to get out of that castle before he ripped his hair out. It was undignified to run away- which he didn’t, he was fast walking there was a great difference. He only ran once no one was in sight all the way to the greenhouse. It was still early in the morning, no one would be there yet class wouldn’t start until nine.

At least that’s what he had hoped.

He busted down the door panting harshly from running only to startle a Gryffindor boy- he recognized the person almost imminently- how could he ever forget the only other pureblood who loathed galas as much as he did?

Neville Longbottom, a shy boy but Gladion knew abuse when he saw it. It was like a mirror to himself of what he could’ve been, what Neville could’ve been. He didn’t scorn the young boy for his anxieties and fears for they were one and the same.

Gladion was just better at hiding his.

Taking a deep breath he squashed down any and all negative emotions into himself. He had been learning occlumency, partly due to his mother influence and partly to help keep his emotions in check. It helped to be able to stuff every feeling he ever felt into a box and be able to ignore it.

“H-Heir Aether,” Neville mumbled inching closer looking more unsure of himself with every step.

It was apparent that he was trying to stick to his upbringing beliving gladion would have nothing less than appropriate manners. A soft un-audible sigh left his lips at the others actions. Not the boy's fault though, the first year he was a mess trying to be perfect and uphold the Aether name afraid if he didn’t his mother would descend onto him like a banshee.

“No need for formalities Neville, we may have never previously spoken but I am aware of who you are.” He kept his face neutral and his tone friendly as he took in the other boys slumped posture and fidgeting hands. He couldn’t help but notice how short the others nails were, most likely bitten off in nerves.

Neville flushed, surprise flashing in his eyes, his lips parting as he asked, “you remember me?” He even managed to stop shaking as if Gladions words have rocked his world.

“I do, I always saw you as a kindred spirit I never liked showing up to those Gala’s either.”

The corner of his lip twitched into a smile extending his hand, “let's meet properly it only seems fair. Gladion Aether, just Gladion on school grounds.” and with friends, he silently added on.

“ O-oh, yeah. I’m uh, I’m Neville. Longbottom.” Neville shook his hand lightly, his palm sweaty. Gladion didn’t even flinch as the moist hand wrapped around his own.

“It’s nice to finally be able to speak with you on my own terms, Neville.” That it was, no mother breathing down his back and hissing at him to stay away from the blood traitor. He always wished to be able to speak with Neville knowing somewhere deep in his gut the both of them had many things in common.

Gladion’s words only seemed to struck the boy dumb causing him to freeze up and to practically drop Gladion’s hand as if it just burned him. He took no offense, with how he acted and the blatant rumors he heard about Augusta Longbottom painted an unhappy childhood for the boy in front of him riddled with self-worth issues and never being good enough to be remembered by anyone.

“R-Really, why me? I-I don’t get it- you could talk with anyone you wanted so why did you even think about talk to me back then?” Neville's face was nearly the same color as the red on his tie, his hair a ruffled mess due to the humidity and looked like he’d properly faint at any moment.

With what Gladion was about to say then the boy just might faint- but oh well he’d cross that bridge when he got there. “Because, we’re both similar, it would’ve been lovely to talk to someone who had the same mindset as me.”

He watched the other boy's brow furrow in confusion before his brown eyes sparkled in realization. “O-Oh! You mean about muggle-borns?”

Gladion blinked in an almost owlish manner. That wasn't what he was thinking of but he supposed that was something they had in common as well. “Yes, that too, but I was mostly referring to the parties and being forced to parade around like trained monkeys for the adult's amusement.”

That managed to startle a laugh out of Neville making the Gryffindor relax. “T-that’s new, I’ve never heard a-anyone else call it that!”

A real smile managed to make it’s way onto Gladion’s face watching the other unstiffen before his eyes and show a part of who he truly was.

“Unpleasant memories aside of being treated as entertainment, what brings you here so early?”

Neville appeared to want to sling the question right back at him but reframed from doing so. Good, Gladion didn’t feel like opening the can of worms which was his current school life.

“Oh, um,” he twiddled his fingers glancing away from him as he mumbled, I’ve always liked working with plants. My uncle Algie has a greenhouse he let’s me tend to so....”

Gladion hummed in acknowledgment, “I’ve heard you're proficient with plants and that you make straight O’s in Herbology. It’s a subject I find lacking in due to my mother never wanting my hands to get dirty saying it was beneath my station.”

‘And just as one thought the flush was gone from the boys face it appears again with a vengeance,’ a voice in the back of his head chuckles.

“I-I’ve had a lot of practice I’m sure if you practice that you’ll soon get O’s too!” Neville was quick to put his achievements down as nothing special, slightly irritating Gladion.

He waved the boys words off, “you’re not giving yourself enough credit, not just anyone can go and memorize everything about plants and know what is what at a glance.

Neville stayed silent seemingly not knowing what to say or even if he could say it to Gladions face. And so they were at a stalemate stuck in awkward silence until one of them can think of something.

Coughing to clear his throat Gladion was the one to take the leap, “I’ve wanted to get a tutor for Herbology but I don't want word getting back to my mother. Do you know anyone who's good at keeping secrets?

More silence.....

Then a soft, “I could.....”

He raised an eyebrow at what he would assume was Neville’s bold attempt as tribute.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind that- it’d be a bonus for you being able to do something you love it’d feel less like teaching and more like having fun.”

Neville smiled and nodded, nerves seeming to fully vanish for now which was a great relief for Gladion. “ Yeah, I’ve always enjoyed being able to be in the greenhouse when I first got my letter this was the only class I had been looking forward too.”

“Would you mind if we start our tutoring early?”

Neville shuffled closer not quite in his personal bubble but not as far away has he had been before. “S-Sure, even though we’ll have class in a few minutes I don’t mind.”

As if his words were the magic spell he started buzzing around the greenhouse like a hummingbird bring out the tools they’d need. “I-If you don’t mind we could... I mean I could-” Neville’s voice soon turned to soft mutterings as he finished grabbing everything needed and plopped them onto a work table.

Before the boy could work himself up even more Gladion placated him, “You want to partner up?” He had to mentally check his schedule out first before he said yes since he was unsure if he had Herbology and was grateful to know he in fact did.

Neville scratched the back of his neck, looking sheepishly at Gladion, “y-yeah. I-If you want- I don't want to take you away from your friends or anything!”

Gladion snorted as if his current partner was a friend it was more like forced to work together due to Slytherin bias.

“I don’t have any friends in this class, it’d be a nice change of pace to have someone adamant about the subject we’re being taught then to hear my seatmates bitter grumbling.”

Neville's shoulders dropped in relief tenseness leaving him once more, he even appeared to be excited. Not that Gladion wasn't excited, no he was happy with the change anything would be better than his current partner and he’s sure he wouldn’t be missed.

Though- Not feeling as overwhelmed by his emotions anymore he slowly let down his occlumency shields letting emotion slowly trickle back into him. His face twisted into worry, “ I’m from Slytherin- surely you must know that and I.... I don’t want to cause you any problems with your housemates.”

To Gladion’s surprise, Neville's chin tilted up, an almost challenging look flashing in his eyes. The bright embers of determination flared within him almost throwing Gladion through a loop. Well, it looks like he found where that Gryffindor courage lay.

“That shouldn’t matter- and it doesn't matter to me. You’re already friends with one of my housemates and she likes you enough- and I think you’re really nice. You’re actually talking to me, and that’s more than I can say for most of the other people in my house.”

Now it was Gladions turn to be struck dumb by the boy's words- he only just talked with him today and already he was willing to throw whatever possible friendship he could have into the fire for him? Him a supposed slimy snake destined for the dark arts and to have raging bloodlust against all muggle kind? And surely those rumors going around couldn't be helping him either in that department.

Right then and there a soft possessive voice in the back of his head cooed that Neville was going to be his friend. Just one of the many he managed to find and keep during his stay here.

Nothing was going to stop him from making that happen.

Well besides himself.

“You shouldn’t be throwing away the possible friends you could make all out because of me,” he murmured glancing away from the boy as his heart ached at the thought of Neville facing bullying like he had too- like his friends had too. He didn’t want to bring that down upon the other boys head all because of him.

Why couldn’t he just let himself be happy?

The words seemed to roll off Neville’s back not affecting him in the least- the burning behind his eyes seemed to be even brighter now face set firmly. “If anyone has a problem with me hanging out with you because you're in Slytherin, I don’t think I’d want to be friends with them anyways!”

He was too trusting, seriously how can he be this kind- is it because he was the only one relatively friendly and admirable towards him? That’s a dangerous trait to have- he’s going to have to teach him that people would use him for their own gain if he acted that way.

“Well if you have free time my friends are having a study session you can always join us. Some of them are younger years like my sister but the age gap isn’t that obvious.”

Neville’s nodded sending Gladion a shy smile which he returned as well pleased to have the other agree to come.

After that, both of them managed to start the tutoring session which was un-surprisingly cut short when Professor Sprout can in followed by other students. And like he promised Gladion stayed rooted to the spot next to Neville even if his old partner sneered at him for the obvious snub. If Gladion wasn’t on the bottom rung of the Slytherin hierarchy then he surely was now.

The class went on as suspected until mid-lesson....

Gladion’s hair stood on end at the feeling of something- to close to him and it surely wasn’t Neville. It all seemed to have happened in slow motion- he turned his head making eye contact with his old seatmate who’s hand was in his pocket- the pocket where he kept his wand at.

With a deft inducing crack, lightning struck the boy making everyone in the greenhouse scream including Neville. The boy just like that girl a week ago was left convulsing on the floor. Gladion was dazed having been close to the strike and slightly blinded by it. A hand wrapped around his own- his first instincts had been to throw the person off but the part of his brain that was still conscious said it was Neville as the boy was the only one close enough to grab his hand.

There was a loud ringing in his ears that refused to go away- most likely due to the close proximity of the strike. The next thing he knew Neville was leading him out of the greenhouse, throwing him worried glances every step. By now the commotion had gathered a large crowd causing whispers to erupt.

“It’s that Aether kid again! He must have done something”

“I wonder who made him angry this time?”

“You guys can’t be serious Aether can’t know wandless magic- he’s too weak for that!”

Although Gladion was unable to hear any of the whispers- or if he did he was unable to process them Neville did and it only upset him. He may not have known Gladion for all that long but in the time that he did, he felt the other boy wasn’t as bad as everyone made him out to be.

The whole fiasco ended with Gladion being grilled then released once no one was able to prove he did it. Neville helped descalate the situation by vouching for him and saying Gladion didn’t speak an incantation.

After that, it seemed to have turned into a sport on who would be able to get Aethers wand. There was a large betting pool going on, several people having been included within it. This only made random lightning strikes another part of daily life for Gladion. At first, he was slightly worried for the people who got hurt but as time passed he grew callused to the happenstance.

Which brings him to just another morning- normal by his standards. He was sitting peacefully next to Mitsuki while Elio took the seat by his left leaving a pouting Selene forced to sit next to him. Surprisingly enough Neville had joined their little group which slightly changed their dynamics.

He wasn’t fully paying attention to what Mitsuki was talking about- quidditch most likely and with how Neville was responding only made the chances higher. Gladion didn't care too much for the sport not being one interested into such things. A piece of the Pumpkin pastry was halfway towards his mouth when an ear-shattering bang rocked the great hall, this one shaking the whole foundation. Now that was slightly new, he supposed this time the person was having truly dark thoughts towards him.

“Just another morning at Hogwarts,” he muttered to himself shaking his head as he spared glances at his friends. A few had been with him during the times where his wand was almost stolen though none seemed to have gotten use to the lightning like he did. With a weary sigh, he closed the screaming out, stuffing his face with the pastry. He was over all this it by now. Maybe he’d feel sorry for them if they weren’t constantly trying to steal his wand.

Hey, he never claimed to be a good person.

Dumbledore appeared exasperated, Gladion didn’t blame him. He wouldn’t be surprised if Madam Pomfrey threatened to hex his balls off if he didn’t stop students from being sent to the infirmary. The other professors were all in states of horror and shock the only one not being Snape which didn’t surprise him either.

“AETHER!”

He sighed again at the shrill yell, yes looks like it’s time to face the music.

“Yes, yes coming.” He grumbled under his breath at the loud shriek from one of the stand in Professors. He took one last bite of his breakfast then slowly stood up, the body of whoever thought it was a smart idea to steal his wand this week surrounded by people and being lifted up by levitation charm and floated away.

Eyes followed him as he strode up towards the professor's table his eyes never leaving the Professor who called upon him. If his gaze wavered he knew he’d get sick to his stomach from the crowd and he wasn’t going to show any signs of weakness in front of enemies.

He was preparing himself to be chewed out until something unexpected happened. Dumbledore raised his hand to shush the professor who looked ready to rip his head off and asked one simple question.

“What wood is your wand made from my boy?”

Gladion grimaced- he’s not the headmaster's boy, he’s no one's boy!

“Laurel.” He was short and to the point, not knowing what wood his wand was made up of having to do with the random lightning strikes. He’s just assumed he had a deep bond with it and it reflected itself by not letting it be able to be stolen.

Surprisingly Dumbledore began to laugh shaking his head in a manner that suggested he suspected this. The action only threw Gladion off-kilter, a frown marred his face showing just how amused he was with the Headmaster.

“Mr. Aether, a Laurel wand is known for once accepting a hardworking wand holder and creating a deep relationship with them for setting off lightning strikes if another witch or wizard attempts to steal it.”

Gladion was floored, for one thing, he never thought of himself as a hard worker- it was just what was expected of him. The work he did on a daily bases was normal and if that impressed his wand to this extent well... Bringing out his wand he stared down at it as if it could unlock the secrets of the world.

All he could let out from this sudden realization was a soft, “oh.” Gladion didn’t even send the old wizard a bitter frown from the pat to his head.

With another soft chuckle, the old man went towards the podium and started to address the whole school. He was blunt and to the point with his speech telling the student body not to steal others wands as they’d be in for a nasty shock. And if anyone was brought to the infirmary under electrical shock they’d have 50 points taken from their house.

Thankfully that was the end of the huge race towards stealing his wand leaving him once again at peace.

Or what little peace a Slytherin could have.

#[ Mun drabbles ] Things that have happened in another place; in another time ⛓️#harry potter au #// idk if aether is really a good last name but u know what its grown on me #// so gladions last name is aether and thats- that #// and yes the reason snape dosen't do anything against gladion visiting is cuz he sees lily and himself in them #// snape low key shipping them #// shipping mitsuki i mean since she's the only other griff at the table #// if gladion knew the reasoning he'd be creeped out about it #// STOP LIVING VICARIOUSLY THROUGH ME OLD COOT!!!!#// it says wizards are much more resilient in the wiki so yeah no worries no one died in the making of this fic #// originally i was going to let the title be the three times gladions wand electrocuted someone and the one time it didn't #// but that is way to long #// also yes the weird feeling in the back of his head was Dumbledore reading gladions mind just to see if gladion did wandless magic

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mysidewriting · 6 years

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Through the Storm

Through the Storm Page "Soundtrack" From the Start--Previous Chapter

Chapter Twenty Three

Storm winds scattered the girl's blood soaked hair around her face as she backed away from the figure approaching her. The woman, dressed in all black and grinning manically, relished that this moment was something she had dreamed of for years. Blood dripped from the blade she brandished, the blood of a whole family. A long hated family The mother, the father, a drop from the daughter. The last thing the woman needed was to end that girl's life, then nothing could stand in her way. No one could stop her plans if the daughter was dead. All those champion's Pokémon would be hers, all the legends, anything and everything she wanted would be at the tip of her fingers. "Hey, Moon." The bloodied girl stumbled away, tumbling to the ground as her feet tangled. The crazed woman somehow replicating her best friend's voice perfectly. Had she killed her too? Had she stolen her voice for her own use? After that nights events, anything seemed possible to her.

"Moon, wake up."

My eyes fluttered open, then shut fast again in reaction to the sudden burst of light. Foggy wisps of the dream I'd been locked in evaporated almost instantly, the only thing I could recall being a bloody knife and an evil laugh. There was a hand on my back, someone rubbing circles with just a bit too much force that made it uncomfortable. I groaned and tried to twist away from the pressure, my own warped voice shocking me. "...Stop..."

A light laugh, my pillow shook with the noise. Wait, what? I forced my eyes back open, jumping as I saw Gladion's face right away - smirking at me. I was on him, I'd fallen asleep with my head on his stomach.

All the grogginess was shocked out of my system and I sat up way too fast, swaying as my balance betrayed me and I nearly fell right back down. Barely catching myself. Lillie stood in the doorway of the room, smiling at me kindly and hiding her giggle. It wasn't until I looked back at Gladion again, sprawled across the bed and looking exhausted, that the events of last night came crashing back into my memory. The late night trip out that broke the rules Steven had set, the crazy woman with the machine... Dad... I swallowed down the rushing emotions and took a deep breath.

"What's going on?" I asked, mostly looking to my partner in crime for the answer rather than Lillie.

"She found the takeout boxes." He said, voice cautious like he wasn't sure if I'd catch the cue.

But I did and I jumped to my feet, once again moving way too fast and nearly falling flat on the floor from dizziness. Gladion jumped and caught a handful of the back of my shirt to hold me steady with a short, nervous laugh. I ignored my flustered thoughts and the rising blush on my cheeks and turned to Lillie, calmly saying, "Could you ask Steven to have everyone meet at the table? There's something important we need to talk about with everyone." I was even shocked at the steady, determined tone that rested in my words.

Lillie was confused, "Um, yeah of course. But what's going on...?" She twisted the end of her ponytail around her finger, nervous. Arceus, what is she thinking...? She was going to ask so many questions about this later, I just knew it.

Gladion shifted, moving to the edge of the bed and throwing his feet over it... but he wasn't as dumb as I had been and didn't stand up right away. "You'll find out soon, Lillie." He grabbed his phone off the side table and I glanced to the small screen as well, it was nearly nine am.

Lillie frowned but nodded anyway, "Okay, see you soon then." She slid out of the room then, seeming hesitant about closing the door behind her.

Gladion stood, stretching his arms over his head and wincing as a few bones popped. Though we'd both just gotten up, I was certain neither of us felt rested at all. I nearly asked if he'd even slept but he spoke first, "How are you feeling?" His gaze met mine and my heart jumped to my throat, the warmth and intensity in his gaze sending shivers down my spine and I quickly looked away. Hopeful that I wasn't being rude doing so.

"I'm okay..." The most generic answer that wasn't satisfactory even when it was true. There was no way to explain what was happening in my brain at the moment. Fear, nervousness, stress, confusion, worry... and that was ignoring the little gleeful shouts my heart was making about him being next to me. But in comparison to last night, I was okay. I didn't have the time to not be. So I squished down everything and said in a more stern voice. "Everything is fine, are you ready to talk with everyone?"

"I'm as ready as you are." He said with a shrug and timid smirk.

I smiled back, thankful for his words and support. "Okay, I'm going to take a quick shower first because I feel like a grimer. I'll meet you upstairs soon?"

"Of course." He wrapped one arm around my shoulders in a half hug before slipping his phone into his pocket and heading out. "See you soon."

Does he even realize what he's doing to me? It took another minute of just standing there, staring at the wall with a stupid grin plastered on my face before I started moving. There were so many things I wanted to sit and think and talk through with myself, all about him and where we stood after last night.... but that was another thing I didn't have the time for. Even if it was a mood booster to focus on those little flutters my heart was doing, I needed to switch into 'champion mode' before I went upstairs. I couldn't forget about the seriousness of the situation just because a guy seemed to have mutual feelings for me.

I ran the shower as hot as I possibly could, melting away all the air-headed emotions and thoughts I was swimming in.

The only people not at the table when I arrived were Steven and Cynthia, of course the two most crucial people that needed to be there. I took my seat between Gladion and Lillie, listening in on the current conversation circulating the seats.

Everyone seemed fairly relaxed and unconcerned about this meeting and about the situation in general. As much as I enjoyed the light atmosphere it felt so wrong to just sit here and joke around. There was no way to know what that crazy woman was doing at the moment, where she was, if she knew where we were. What she was planning to do now that someone had seen what she was capable of. It was unnerving to think about... yet here everyone sat, relaxed and happy like nothing was happening. If we hadn't gone out last night how long would it have taken to find out about the machine? The thought made me shiver. We really needed to break the news and get everyone back on track.

Where were Steven and Cynthia...?

Gladion slid a mug of steaming tea in front of me, bending down to my ear. "Don't bring up your dad... it's too much of a scare when we don't know if it's true. Okay?" He whispered. My stomach hurt as I thought of the voice in that cave again and I grabbed the tea eagerly, taking a little sip of it and letting the liquid warm and ease my insides. "I wasn't planning on it, it's a bad idea for a lot of reasons."

He nodded and grabbed my hand, squeezing it reassuringly. I took another, longer sip of the tea to dispel the new butterfree fluttering in my stomach.

"Hey!" Green snapped and pointed at us, "You're supposed to be talking to us not each other."

"Yeah, what's going on?" Hau asked, leaning into the table to look at us past Lillie.

Thankfully, just as everyone else at the table was starting to chatter and ask what the hell had happened, the two missing members of the group walked in and took their seats. Everyone fell silent and turned to Steven expectantly. He sat with a very stoic, emotionless expression on his face and the confidence I had gathered together in the shower faltered for a moment. Was he pissed? Would he be? For how serious this stuff was... he really shouldn't be upset, and all I could do was hope that was true. We would need his help taking care of this mess and I didn't exactly want to be on the bad side of a fellow champion, especially one who had been around as long as he had.

Looking at his face, though, I could remember how serious he was when he said he specifically didn't want me to leave. I shuddered and Gladion squeezed my hand again.

"I heard something's happened...?" Steven said calmly, finally expressing some emotion though it was only concern.

"To cut things short, both Moon and I left last night to find some answers to everything that's happened." Gladion started and I envied his own emotionless expression.

"What?!" Lillie boomed, shocked at the volume of her own voice and slapping a hand over her mouth in embarrassment before continuing in a much softer tone. "You guys left? In this weather?"

"Not just the weather, but when legendaries and crazy idiots are out to kill you, Moon?" Brendan added, "Why would you guys go alone?!"

"It wasn't alone? We went together, and clearly we're fine, I'm not dead." I defended. "Besides, it's crazier to just sit around considering the circumstances. You all know that."

Steven only nodded, though I could tell he wasn't happy with us for the choice by the set of his jaw. Cynthia, though, was grinning. "I hope you're little trip was worthwhile then?" She said.

"We only made it to one of the places we needed to check. Just the day care center, we didn't get to Aqua or the factory." I said.

Gladion added, "We stopped at a Pokémon center and ran into Magma as well. Once again, long story short, Aqua did wake up Kyogre."

The room went silent again, the carefree atmosphere seeming to pop right out of the air and a sense of dread seeped in. Those who truly understood the magnitude of those words going rigid and their faces becoming pale. The sound of the storm outside seemed amplified in the scared silence, the knowledge of its true origins making the pounding raindrops much more ominous.

Gladion pushed on, "Magma claimed they want to stop Aqua too, they were out looking for the champions and telling people they needed their help to deal with recent events. I thought it was a ploy at first, but now I'm not so sure."

I glanced to him, he hadn't said anything about that before. "You think they actually want to work with us?"

"I don't know, and I don't know if it's worth the risk to find out..." He muttered. "If they are lying, someone could be..." He stopped, unable to say the word. Some of the color drained from his face and I squeezed his hand this time.

"Killed." Steven finished for him, that word hanging in the air heavily for a moment before he continued. "Yes, it is very dangerous... But I'm interested. If we send a group with their full teams out to Magma to investigate, then..."

"There's something else though!" I said quickly, cutting him off partially on accident. All eyes turned to me, expectant. "We... we can't use our pokemon...!"

"What? What are you saying?" Gold said, a few others at the table expressing their concerns to my words as well. Everyone shocked and confused.

I wasn't sure how to word what I wanted to say and Gladion's silence lead me to believe he felt the same way. I looked to Cynthia, she'd seen this herself... and she perked up when she made eye contact with me. "Well... At the hatchery we... we found." Why am I locking up? Stop locking up! You're a champion, dammit, stop being so weak! But my dad's face was flashing behind my eyes every time I blinked and his voice rang in my ears.

"The woman we saw at Aqua was there, the one who seemed to be in control of the charizard attacks." Gladion finally spoke up and although I was frustrated with myself for not being able to speak about the issue, I was endlessly thankful he had found his words. "We didn't see it but, there was some machine down there and from the way she was talking about it..."

"It controls pokemon." I finished when he hesitated. The thought of our own team members turning on us enough to break that hypnotic image of my father from my mind. "We saw it happen! Lycanroc and reuniclus tried attacking us while we were there. A ton of wild pokemon tried attacking me too."

Gladion let out a whoosh of air and his grip on my hand tightened so much it started to hurt. "Arceus, they almost killed you, Moon." The sentence was nearly a whisper, more exasperated by the memory than trying to tell the others about this... but of course they heard... and of course they all started freaking out. Either yelling at both of us for nearly getting me killed of worrying about this machine and its effects.

It was loud, and I cringed as their voices just kept getting louder, competing with the sound level. Finally, Green yelled for everyone to shut up and the room fell back to silence. Green turned to face me "We just battled with our pokemon yesterday, how are we not be able to use them now?"

My mouth opened but Gladion spoke first, a glare in his eyes. "If you don't believe us then find out yourself." He said and I jumped.

"No! That's a bad idea!" I said quickly, shaking my head. "Someone could get hurt... just..."

Red let his pikachu pop out onto the table and I cringed away, ready for someone to be zapped. The Pokémon stood at the center and looked around for a moment, totally normal and innocent. Green said something about us worrying over nothing... but then pikachu's ears twitched, its fur standing on end and tail going rigid. The red sacks on its cheeks started glowing and electricity popped as it readied an attack. I shouted at Red to recall it and he quickly did, looking startled by the reaction of his beloved pikachu. That was proof enough.

Everyone was silent for a while and I let it stay that way, giving them time to let the reality sink in. I glanced to Gladion who was staring down at our hands intertwined in his lap with a sullen look. His eyes flicked to meet my gaze for a second before looking back down, he was stressed too. As strong as he always was, no one handled stuff like this well. I leaned against his shoulder and squeezed his hand in hopes of reminding him of our rapport. He leaned into me as well and my chest swelled with warmth.

"But how did that change in just a day?" Krys asked, breaking the silence in the room.

Cynthia replied first, "It wasn't just a day, as I said before, pokemon have been going nuts within city limits region-wide. Legendaries and trainer pokemon. I'm not sure why it's just now affecting us, though." She turned to us for the answer.

"I'm not totally sure either." I said before Gladion could speak. "It sounded like they were fixing up some machine at the bottom of that hatchery? That's all I know..."

"Silvally." Gladion muttered quietly so only I could hear. Oh! Right! He sat upright then, "We don't know why it's reaching our teams now, but we did find something interesting. The only Pokémon not affected by this brainwashing contraption was both of our silvally."

"What's so special about them?" Green asked with a huff, all that mattered was that our pokemon weren't brainwashed, not that there was pokemon that weren't affected. "It's not like they 'love you' more than our pokemon love us." He said in a mocking tone.

"I want another example." Steven said calmly from the head of the table and grabbed for one of his own pokeballs as he stood. "Either of you, send out your silvally, please."

I stood and tugged the pokeball from my bag before Gladion could act. I released my teammate as Steven released his - a skarmory. Silvally stretched and yawned as the other Pokémon looked hesitantly around the room, stressed for some reason. A moment later the skarmory screeched and span to face the table full of people, raising its now glowing wings. Before I could even react to the coming attack my silvally launched itself at the other Pokémon. The two tumbled and silvally landed on top, pinning the metal bird. Steven sighed and recalled his Pokémon, shoving the ball away rather dramatically.

"What the hell?!" Green shouted.

"There has to be a reason why this pokemon specifically isn't affected." Steven said, looking perplexed.

Silvally bounced over to me and nipped and tugged at my sweater excitedly, purring and happy to be outside her ball. I pat her head before taking my seat again, then she shoved herself between Lillie and I and started rubbing against her as well.

What was different about silvally specifically...? I looked to Gladion who watched my Pokémon with a small smile on his lips, distracted. Then it finally occurred to me and I jumped straight up to my feet again, scaring everyone around me. "Does anyone have a ditto?!"

"A ditto?" Hau said.

"Why a ditto?" Gold said.

"I have one!" Krys rose her hand, "But why? Do you think it could transform into a silvally and still act normal because I don't think it will work that way."

"No! Because it's a man made pokemon! Could you let it out?" I said, hoping to Arceus that my assumption was right.

The small pink blob appeared on the table, smiling to all of us calmly and... doing absolutely nothing. The Pokémon just sat there, lazily looking around the room and waiting for an order from its trainer. It didn't attack, didn't look uncomfortable, wasn't acting strange at all. "So that's what it is then!" I shouted as Krys recalled the pink blob. "It's not affecting man made pokemon."

"But why?" Cynthia said, tapping a finger to her chin.

"What's it matter why? We know a few pokemon that we can use now." I said, plopping down in my seat once again. "Is there any others that we know of?"

"There aren't many and I certainly don't have any." Steven said, "Three pokemon is by far not enough to stop that women and Aqua. They are helpful, but we'll need to think of an elaborate plan without our full teams."

"There is another man made pokemon that would be really helpful." Lillie said in a timid voice, Hau was persuading her to talk, cheering her on with a big grin when she did. "That one in Kanto that Red found on Mount Silver."

"No." Red said, making the people sitting near him jump and stare at him in shock. "No way. Mewtwo is impossible to catch."

Mewtwo! That was the Pokémon I'd forgotten about! I tugged on Gladion's sleeve and told him that this was the Pokémon I had forgotten the name of last night in a hushed voice.

"Plus, we have no idea if it's still on Mount Silver or in Kanto at all." Red added, shaking his head.

"I'm willing to go find it." I pitched, shrinking into my seat a bit as all eyes turned on me again. Shocked, unbelieving, annoyed... "If it would be helpful, I'm willing to try and catch it... or at least persuade it to help."

"Moon, no!" Lillie said, her whispered words of worry enough to set off the whole table again. Everyone discussing what we even could do without the normal Pokémon everyone used. Various opinions about whether it was a good idea to put time and effort into searching for mewtwo at a time like this. I met Lillie's worried gaze as she shook her head, the rumble of the rest of the rooms’ chatter nearly drowning out her next statement. "Did you forget what Red said about that Pokémon before? It's dangerous! Especially if you only have one pokemon to fight it with!"

"I know, but what other options do we have? It's better to try now than to regret it later." I replied. I couldn't forget what Red had said, how it had knocked out his whole team so quickly, that it could talk through telepathy, and how he'd had to get down the mountain alone. Between his account and what Oak's research had said about the legendary killing an entire lab of people... it was a scary thought to go and willingly search out this intimidating beast. But I'd wanted to meet it while I was in Kanto and I still wanted too... Now there was more reason to do so.

Steven shouted over everyone else's talking, "I'm going to consider the options!" Everyone quieted down to listen to him and he looked relieved about now having to scream over all the talking. "I'll give Oak a call and ask about mewtwo. I'm not saying go, Moon, but if you are willing to try than it may not be a bad idea. With how things have turned, we simply cannot wait to take action any longer. I will brainstorm some plans and come back to you guys after I've solidified some information. Be ready to have to split up into teams and take on some rather daunting tasks for the sake of everyone. Please, I encourage you all to search for solutions to this problem as well."

He nodded and some groups left from the table in a hurry, talking frantically over all the information they'd just heard. Steven made one last comment specifically to Gladion and me, "Thank you, you two, for being much bolder and braver than myself. I apologize for attempting to hold you back from pursuing this information and am grateful that you went along with it anyway."

Three hours later Steven called us all back and described a general overview of his plan, promising to better explain the process to the individuals he'd picked to take each task.

Brendan and May were in charge of going to take back the red and blue orbs from Aqua and Magma. Gladion explained that Tabitha had claimed Magma had access to the orb but didn't necessarily have it on them. The two of them agreed to do whatever they could to retrieve the relics, not fazed by the task considering how similar it was to their plans from before.

Steven was going to go search that factory Gladion had found and for a woman he had met briefly on one of the scattered islands around Hoenn. He said he was certain she could help us with this issue but didn't explain much more beyond that.

Red, Green, Gold, and Krys were to go look for Aqua and Kyogre and make observations. They would attempt to figure out the current plans of the team and the exact location of this dangerous legendary. Steven was hopeful that my plan of finding mewtwo would go through and we could use its power to defeat Kyogre once I got back.

Which clearly implied that he did want me to head to Kanto, and he initially said to go alone. He'd wanted Cynthia, Lillie, Hau, and Gladion to stay back and watch over the house to work as a base of operations for the other teams... a group to report in too and a safe place to go back to once everyone's respective 'missions' were completed. But Cynthia voted herself on as crazy woman searcher, not liking the idea of staying back in such dire times. She wanted to go check the hatchery for the machine and the lady after us. And Gladion refused to let me go to Kanto and deal with some crazed psychic killer alone, even offering to leave his silvally behind as a guard if he could go with me.

I didn't want to go alone anyway, hadn't meant to imply that I wanted to go alone when I'd offered myself up to begin with. I knew better now, knew I couldn't handle something like that by myself even if I did have my whole pokemon team to work with. I needed back up and I honestly didn't want anyone other than Gladion to go with. We were a perfect team, and I trusted him with my life more than anyone else at the moment. I recognized that he was the only other one with a trustworthy pokemon and it would be wrong to take both of those Pokémon to Kanto. Neither of us minded entrusting Hau or Lillie with our teammates.

My whole trip was riding on the willingness of Steven's friend anyway, someone with a small plane that could handle the storm during a low point. We clearly couldn't use a Pokémon at the moment and boats wouldn't work either. Too much time spent out in the open was dangerous and a boat was far too much time. Either way, Steven said it was a good idea for both of us to go if that was what we wanted to do. Apparently we had proven our skills as a team last night and he felt more comfortable sending both of us rather than just one.

So for Gladion and I, the plan was to get ready and wait... wait until we got a response from this guy with the plane and wait for a short break in the storm... something that happened maybe once every three hours or so. As frustrating as it was to do the exact same thing I had broken the rules to avoid doing... I was thankful for the break to mentally prepare myself for what was to come.

Mewtwo wouldn't be easy to handle, if we even managed to find it. I expected a difficult battle and an even more difficult capture if it came down to that. My initial plan was to talk to it, explain the situation and attempt to sway it to help us. I didn't like the idea of capturing legendaries, thought it was wrong to bind such a powerful Pokémon to a ball and trainer... but if I had to catch it, I would attempt too. Even beyond that... whenever we got back, either with or without the man made legendary, we would be putting an end to the charizard attacks and kyogre issue. A wonderful and stressful thought to me at the moment. I wanted to be finished with this mess but I was horrified of facing that woman and finding out if my dad really was working with her...

"You're really going to go find that monster?" Lillie's concerned tone snapped me back into the current moment and I blinked hard, surprised to see I was now standing in the living room with my friends all seated around me. Gladion tugged me onto the couch next to him as his sister stared me down with this worried look on her face. "Aren't you scared?!"

"It'll be okay" I said, reassuring both her and myself with the words. "It's one of the only Pokémon that can help us, so we don't really have another option."

"I won't let her get hurt." Gladion said as well, looking rather relaxed and confident. Totally opposite of what he had looked like just a few minutes earlier. What had he done to calm down so quickly?

Lillie huffed and crossed her arms, "Neither of you can get hurt. Promise me you won't make dumb choices?"

Gladion snorted in response and I shuddered at the similarity of her words to something he had said before. Back before this had all gone awry. Oh, if only we knew then what we knew now... things could have gone much smoother...

I shook myself from the thoughts and bobbed my head. "I promise we'll be safe, Lillie. You know we can handle it." I managed to pull a smile to my lips and even though I felt like screaming on the inside, it was genuine.

She glared at her brother until he grumbled a "yup" in response. Then she seemed to relax quite a bit, falling backwards into the cushion of the couch with a loud 'floof'. Hau giggled next to her and grabbed her hand and I jumped at that tiny chance to change the subject.

"What's going on with you two?!" I practically shouted, cringing at myself for the volume.

Both Hau and her went totally red in the face and glanced to each other awkwardly. Gladion shook his head, a smirk on his lips as he said, "Can you be anymore invasive, Moon?" He was joking, he had to be interested in his sister's current relationship with our friend. I stuck my tongue out at him anyway and the grin he gave in reaction made me laugh.

Lillie watched us carefully, smiling to herself before actually answering the question. "We're, ah, trying the dating thing." She tried to hide her smile behind her hand but it was still evident in the creases by her eyes and the glow she seemed to emanate. Hau was glowing as well, the size of the grin on his face looking almost painful. He said nothing, but the look he gave me was enough for me to understand his excitement.

I couldn't help but laugh, "Finally."

"Hey!" They both said, varying amounts of embarrassment and annoyance in their voices. Lillie shook her head and my laughter grew a bit louder.

"Sorry, it's just... I've been listening to both of you rave about each other for so long. I'm glad you two finally talked things out." I grinned. "As odd as the timing is."

They looked to each other again, all awkward smiles and blushing cheeks. They wouldn't have known they were simultaneously venting their thoughts to me if I hadn't acknowledged the fact. I couldn't wait to share all those little things they'd said about each other, but for now I would rather give them time to discover all those romantic feelings themselves. It was honestly astounding to think that something as beautiful and sweet as a new relationship had bloomed during such a dark and tragic time. I couldn't help but grin again at the thought of what could come after all of this had ended. How happy they would both be. How nauseatingly adorable they would be, already were, actually. Even if the timing was odd and we were all trapped in such a dangerous situation, just bringing them together had been enough to spark something great... ...And suddenly I was hyper aware of exactly how close Gladion was next to me.

"There's no odd time when it comes to feelings, Moon." Hau said happily, crossing his arms behind his head. "You just have to let it happen when it happens!"

Lillie nodded enthusiastically, locking a knowing gaze on me for a moment before changing the subject. Like she knew I didn't want to talk about that right now. "Not to keep talking up the elephant in the room, but do you guys have any idea of where you're going to go in Kanto?"

Not like I want to focus on that right now either though... We had plenty of time to plan and scheme for whenever we got to Kanto. I didn't want to dwell on it in this moment, I'd done enough dwelling last night.

But Gladion glanced down to me as well, the look on his face expressing his own curiosity to the question. "I have a few ideas, clearly mount silver is the first stop." I said despite my reservations, "But I was thinking of checking that cave we went in before."

Lillie went a little pale, "the cave I almost died in?"

Hau jumped, "didn't Gladion and I tell you both to stay away from that place?! Why go there?"

"Yes." Gladion grumbled, rubbing a hand over his face. "Why do you think it's there, Moon?"

"Okay, okay, okay. First, you did not almost die Lillie. It wasn't that big of a drop and we had a ton of Pokémon with us!" She shrugged, not seeing why that made the situation any better. "Secondly, I saw some weird room in there right before we turned around... in that really narrow passageway. I feel like something is there and it would make sense if mewtwo was hanging out somewhere so 'dangerous'." I looked to the guy next to me, clearly still uncomfortable at the thought of me going back in this cave they thought was so horrible.

He shrugged, though, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes in his signature, apathetic stance. "Okay. We can go there first then."

Hau sighed, "Just don't go and fall off some cliff, okay? We need you guys back here to fight kyogre and the crazy lady."

"It'll be fine." Gladion muttered.

We sat and chatted a little longer about what the plan was... how I was planning on talking to mewtwo before attempting to battle and capture it, what we could do if either of my plans failed, what would happen afterwards, and what they would be doing in the meantime. Hau was going to go find a ditto to help protect the house, I guess Steven had seen them in the area a few times. I warned him about all the other Pokémon and how crazy they may be, but he didn't care. Lillie didn't like the idea but thought it was their best option. They refused to let either of the silvally stay behind, they thought we needed the extra strength ourselves... which they weren't wrong about... but I still worried about their chances of getting into danger without a trusted pokemon to work with.

After another twenty minutes Gladion slipped out of the room, saying something about finishing that work for Aether and making some calls. He asked me to either come get him or send him a message if Steven said anything and I agreed, obviously. Lillie shooed off Hau a moment after her brother had vanished down the hall, telling him to go ask Steven for more information about the ditto. He complained about wanting to hangout more but Lillie wanted 'girl time'.

"What so you guys can talk about me?" He pouted. "Or are you gonna make her talk about Gladion?"

I felt my face go red and Lillie span on him with her own little glare, "Do you think all we do is talk about crushes and lovey dovey stuff? We're not little kids. I need to talk to Moon.”

He threw his hands up in surrender, "okay! Sorry!" He laughed and pushed up off the couch, "I guess I'll just have to talk with you later, Moon." He grinned in my direction before disappearing as well.

I felt kind of bad, I wanted to talk with just Lillie as well, but I'd barely spoken to or spent time with Hau at all. Even if we did see each other fairly frequently while I was in Alola, it had still been a while since I was there. I guess the biggest thing was that the siblings were here at the moment, and both were free to talk and hangout. Though we were all great friends, it was hard to hangout in a bigger group at the moment. We'd have time to talk once everything was over, I just had to keep reminding myself that all of this would be done soon. Some bit of normalcy would come back.

Lillie lead us to her room and shut the door behind her. Clearly trying to avoid someone or everyone for some reason. I took a seat on the bed and flicked on my phone's flashlight for some source of light once again.

"I wanted to ask you something, but feel free to say no." She bounced onto the bed next to me, the light from my phone casting a strange array of shadows across her worry crinkled face. "You'll be near my house in Kanto if you're visiting that cave, is there any chance you could stop and check on my mom? I didn't want to ask Gladion, he's been better about family lately but I'm sure he wouldn't go and see her if I asked."

"Do you think something's wrong?" I asked, not trying to avoid her request but inadvertently doing so anyway. I didn't know if we would have the time and I felt bad telling her that.

She hesitated a moment before shrugging and looking towards the flooded, dark window. "I don't know, it's the first time she's been alone this long since before... well you know... and I'm kind of worried about her."

"Have you tried calling her?" I said.

She shook her head, smiling yet her eyes looked sad, "I'm kind of afraid to? What if something is wrong and I can't do anything about it?"

I sighed, "Well, I can't promise anything but if I have time to stop I will. Either way, I think it'd be better if you tried calling. Okay?"

She nodded, eyes going distant and brows knotting up even more. "Thank you." She turned quiet then, continuing to stare out the window. I laid on the bed, letting my eyes sink closed and feeling the heavy wave of sleepiness wash over me. Even though my body seemed to be in a constant state of stress as I suppressed all my worries, nothing could hide my exhaustion. I'd only slept maybe three hours? If even?

Without really thinking about it, I blurted out to Lillie. "That crazy woman... I finally figured out how I know her." Gladion had told me to not tell anyone else about this, but Lillie was so easy to talk too. I just wouldn't bring up my father's voice.

"How do you know her?" Her voice was tiny, scared.

"Remember when I told you my dad was hanging out with a woman at his house?" I started, and she gasped dramatically, catching on immediately. "I'm 99.9% sure it's her."

"How?! Why?" Lillie grabbed my arm and tugged me upright, "what happened?!"

I ran through a more extensive explanation of everything that had happened last night, starting with the Pokémon center and running into Magma since I knew she would want to hear everything anyway. I stopped right after explaining how we found out silvally wasn't affected by the machine and Lillie collapsed into the bed out of shock.

"Arceus. If it really is that woman doing all of this... why? Why did she go after your dad? I don't get it." She said, "Did she specifically look up champion's families? Did she want an in? I mean, even that doesn't necessarily make sense?"

"I don't know." I muttered. "Even if she was trying to get an 'in' on the champions why would she pick me? The newest one and the one whose father is in a different region anyway?"

Lillie tapped a finger to her chin, "the region thing makes sense, since you wouldn't notice she was getting close to him. I guess any champions could have been targeted it just happened to be you."

I groaned, "I'm kind of tired of everything just happening to be my problem." I let out an exasperated laugh. "I was telling Gladion last night, my dad actually does a lot of engineering sort of stuff so maybe she just wanted someone like that? To help her build that machine."

"That's what it has to be, plus the benefit of screwing over a champion in the process. But still, she would have had to been so shady about getting blueprints from him." Lillie said before peering at me, "by the way, I know something had to have happened between you and Gladion. Don't think I haven't noticed you avoiding talking about it."

I blushed, "Wow, that's the most natural progression of conversation I've ever heard." I laughed, "'crazy woman trying to kill you happens to be dating your dad' to 'hey how are you and my brother doing romantically'?" It was a fast switch but I was glad she wasn't questioning more with my dad, that she hadn't jumped to thinking that he was trying to help... kill... me...

Lillie giggled, "Sorry, you brought him up so..." She grinned. "It's a lot lighter of a topic! You should tell me what happened with him."

My mind rushed through everything that had happened, my stomach igniting in rampant butterfree and my face somehow growing warmer. I was too overwhelmed to even attempt to process anything, there hadn't been a moment last night that wasn't worth mentioning. I covered my face with my hands. "I-I don't even know what to say." I paused and turned to look at her. "Tell me what Hau said the other night first."

"Nope." She shook her head, smirking. "You don't get to play that game anymore. Just start with last night!"

I flopped down, "I can't!"

She burst out laughing, "Come on, Moon."

"I've been trying to not think about this stuff. With everything going on it just doesn't feel right to acknowledge emotional stuff..." I rubbed at my face. "I-I guess it's kind of mean for me to do that though, isn't it."

She shook her head, looking rather worldly. "Did you ignore what Hau said about just letting things happen? Or are you being a hypocrite because I remember you telling me to not wait any more."

I groaned, "It's different for you two though, you're more like bystanders... or maybe victims of war with this mess. I have to try to take care of it without being killed and spending any amount of energy on something so frivolous like love is just... so counterproductive." It felt oddly relieving to actually say what was holding me back aloud.

She stared at me with wide eyes and a blank face before letting out a short chuckle. "You kind of sound like him." My face burned a brighter red and I turned away. "You also just said 'love' which makes this a lot more serious too."

"I don't mean it like that!" I practically shouted. "You know what I meant."

She sighed, "and you said I was being stubborn before? Moon, what would be different from how it is with you two now other than just putting a label on it? You're both already treating each other like you've been dating for a while. I mean seriously, you were holding hands like the whole time at the table and slept together last night. You can't exactly call that friendship, can you?"

...She had a point... I hadn't considered that.

The butterfree in my stomach were flopping around hard enough to make me feel sick and I sat upright, bracing my face in my hands. Was I actually considering her words...? She was right, it was no different and if anything it would be less stressful for me to just accept everything. Why was I pushing it all aside...? I was just stressing myself out more by trying to ignore all those thoughts and emotions... wouldn't it be easier to just give in to them? Clearly, he felt the same, there was no room to doubt that anymore whatsoever. Maybe starting to date right now wouldn't be the most 'romantic thing' but it would be nice to have someone to rely on for emotional support... without feeling weird and awkward about it.

I glanced to Lillie and the huge smile that flashed on her face proved that she could tell what I was thinking. "You're right." My voice was quiet. "I didn't even think about that."

She shoved my shoulder and I nearly rolled off the bed as a result. "Finally!" She mocked my own voice and laughed. "So stop ignoring it and just let whatever happen, happen." She grinned and my insides churned in this nauseating mix of nervousness and happiness.

What would happen, though?

#gladion x moon #gladion #gladion fanfic #lonashipping #mahinashipping #pokemon #romance #adventure #Hau x Lillie #through the storm #through the storm chapter twenty three

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